


The Sea and the Shore

by kythen



Series: The Sea and the Shore [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drowning, Falling In Love, M/M, Merman!Daichi, Merpeople, Slow Build, bad puns and pick-up lines, kuroo's sentient hair, mentions of other mythical beings and creatures, panic attacks related to drowning, totally not a mermaid princess daichi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-23 19:06:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7476246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kythen/pseuds/kythen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Between the sea and the shore, young merman Daichi meets a human.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sea and the Shore

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thegoldhopeful](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegoldhopeful/gifts).



> Dear thegoldhopeful,
> 
> Your first request was for kurodai, which coincidentally, is what my first request and offer was (almost word for word) so you have no idea how excited I was to meet someone in the kurodai pit. My first thought was "hey, why don't I write a mermaid AU then" and so here you have it, 20k words of fic which is my love letter to you and this beautiful ship. I hope you enjoy it!

He's back again.

Daichi skims the surface of the sea, his nostrils flaring as he breathes in the air, fresh but with a salty tang, not an entirely familiar sensation. He blinks away the water streaming into his eyes, keeping them fixed on the figure pacing up and down the strip of sand in front of him.

It is the third time in a week Daichi has seen the same human in the cove, wearing down a path in the sand with his footprints, his head angled towards the sea like he is searching for something. His presence here is unusual, given the jagged rocks that surround the cove, towering tall above human height and deterring anybody from entering the cove. But here he was and the younger merpeople who liked to play around the area had come running to Daichi.

Daichi had told them that he would settle it, but he honestly has no idea how to go about with it. Merpeople and humans did not mix. In fact, merpeople and all other people who were not human tried to avoid humans in general. There were laws put down in place from their ancestors, which came down from their ancestors, which basically said that humans were bad news and to stay away from them. Although, things have been relaxed as of late, given that some laws were meant to be broken and some humans were not all that bad, but Daichi himself has never talked to a human before.

The human walks to the end of the cove and Daichi trails after him, pushing himself through the water with slow flicks of his tail. Daichi has been watching him for a while now, memorising the shape of his hair, styled like an unfortunate explosion, and the languid gait of his strides, slow and measured. He being here once was a stroke of luck, twice a coincidence. A third time meant that he was here for a purpose.

The human makes an abrupt turn towards the sea and Daichi sinks back into the water, keeping his face upturned to watch the human as he comes close and stops at the edge of the shore.

Through the seawater, Daichi can just about make out his features, a sharp jaw and dark eyes, the rest of him refracted away by the water between them. Daichi doesn't think that the human can see him, but there is something about those eyes, too sharp, too watchful, which makes him delve back into the depths of the sea, moving as stealthily as he can until the surface is completely out of sight.

\---

The next day is a repeat of the previous day when Hinata swims towards him with Kageyama in tow, looking supremely frazzled.

"He's there again," Hinata complains and Daichi sighs, taking off to the cove again.

The human is not there when he pops his head out of the water to check. Daichi goes back and forth, inspecting the cove from one end to another. The water is shallower close to the rocks and Daichi glances around, scanning his surroundings for any sign of movement before he heaves himself out of the water, the cool air sticking to his damp skin as he looks around the edge of a rock.

Dark eyes blink back at him and Daichi falls back into the shallows with a splash, scrambling to get to the other side of the rock as the human comes into sight.

"Hello there," the human says, surprised. "I didn't think there would be anyone around here."

Daichi burrows his tail in the sand, wincing as it scratches his scales. The shallow water it lies in is not enough to hide it from sight and he tucks it behind the rock before peeking out to look at the human.

"Hi," Daichi says, startling at how loud his voice sounds in the open air. "Me neither."

Thankfully, the human stays where he is, his hand resting against the rock as he surveys Daichi. Up close, he is not all that different from the merpeople Daichi knows, apart from the waist down, and Daichi takes courage from that, meeting his eyes squarely as they come to rest on his face.

"What are you doing here? Are you swimming?" asks the human.

"Uh, yeah. Swimming." Daichi nods, latching onto the excuse the human gives him. "It's a nice place to swim in. Are you here to swim too?"

"Nah, not me." The human shrugs. "I'm just here to take in a bit of sun. It is a nice place, but it's hard to get to so I was surprised to see someone else here. What's your name?"

Daichi blinks, almost caught off guard by the sudden question. "What's yours?" He tilts his chin towards the human, slightly challenging.

The human smiles, just the barest hint of teeth flashing behind his lips. "I'm Kuroo."

"Sawamura," Daichi replies.

Kuroo takes a step forward, his hand outstretched towards Daichi, and Daichi darts back behind the rock, his heart racing as he tries to figure out if he can get to deep water fast enough without getting caught by Kuroo. When Kuroo does not appear around the rock, Daichi gives in to the urge to look and sees him standing back in his original position.

"Sorry." Kuroo doesn't quite meet Daichi's eyes. "Are you, uh, indecently attired or something?"

Daichi has no idea what Kuroo means by "indecently attired" but if it gets Kuroo away from his tail it will do. He nods and Kuroo diverts his gaze upwards, inhaling sharply.

"I'll just stand here then," Kuroo assures Daichi, rapping his knuckles against the rock.

"I appreciate it." Daichi switches his tail, dislodging sand and working out a cramp in it. "Are you here often?"

"Sometimes. You?"

"Sometimes."

Kuroo grins, all previous traces of embarrassment gone as he leans his shoulder against the rock. Despite himself, Daichi finds the corners of his lips lifting, just slightly, to match Kuroo's grin. The both of them are being deliberately obtuse, not really answering the other's questions, taking the time to feel each other out, and they both know it.

Kuroo is interesting, razor-sharp beneath his languid exterior and terrible hair, and Daichi wants to keep talking to him, if only to see if he can get a proper answer from Kuroo by the end of today.

\---

Kuroo is there again when Daichi returns two days later, a dark slash against the white sand as Daichi approaches from a distance. He had not been there when Daichi checked yesterday and Daichi had half-hoped that he had decided to go away. They had spent the day before talking until the sun went down, trying to figure out how much they could get out of each other without revealing too much about themselves. Daichi wonders if Kuroo had seen it as a game when he deflected Daichi's questions with a smirk or if he had something to hide like Daichi.

Daichi doesn't want to tell Kuroo he is a merman yet. He has heard of stories, of merpeople who had made contact with humans to various consequences and not all of them were good. In the worst cases, entire villages had to disappear when humans came looking for them in the deep. Daichi doesn't think Kuroo would do that to him, not after spending the day with him, but it is something he doesn't want to risk all the same.

"Back again, Sawamura?" Kuroo interrupts his thoughts, having finally spotted Daichi by the rocks again. He stops before he gets too close, taking a cautious step forward to test the waters, and Daichi inches back around the rock.

Daichi is facing the sea today, ready to take off in case Kuroo gets too close. But Kuroo stays where he is, plopping down on the sand and staying just beyond the lapping waves.

"You weren't here yesterday," Daichi remarks, relaxing into place. He stretches his tail out along the sand, warming it under the sun.

"Oh? Did you miss me?" The corners of Kuroo's lips quirk up, showing the start of a smirk. "It's only been two days."

Daichi snorts. "I barely know you."

"Come on, you know my name and face. You could pick me out from a crowd. That's plenty to go on already."

"Anyone could pick you out from a crowd. Your hair sticks out from it."

"Wow, talk about childish. Are we attacking each other's appearances now? Because as far as I'm concerned, your lower half is nothing but part of the rock." Kuroo props his chin on his hand, directing a grin his way as he adds, "But your upper half makes up for it. Must be all that swimming."

Daichi arches an eyebrow at him. "Like you would know anything about swimming. Do you even get into the water?"

"I don't like getting my feet wet," Kuroo replies easily, even as the tide washes over his feet.

Daichi throws him a meaningful look and Kuroo smiles winningly back at him.

"As far as I'm concerned, you must suck at swimming." That sounds childish even to him but Kuroo pouts accordingly and Daichi can't help bursting out in laughter.

"Okay, okay, you got me. I don't like going in the water. Much." The smile returns to Kuroo's face. "But for you, half-rock boy, I'll make an exception."

"I'm honoured."

"We should meet in town once. Although I don't think I've ever seen you around there."

"Oh." A burst of nervous energy makes Daichi's tail jump. "I'm from out of town."

"Thought so. Where are you from?"

Daichi's eyes dart towards the sea like the answer is somewhere out there on the horizon. "Across the sea?" he blurts out, thinking of the islands further out.

"You're a foreigner?" Kuroo raises an eyebrow. "Or an islander?"

"Islander. What about you?" Daichi throws the question back at Kuroo hurriedly.

"I've lived in this town all my life. It's not a very big town so I would definitely recognise someone like you if you were from around here."

There it is again. Sometimes Kuroo said things that almost sounded like he was flirting, but his voice switched between genuine and teasing so fast that Daichi couldn't really be sure. Maybe it was just how he talked, combined with a deliberately arched eyebrow and a crooked smile that made it seem that way.

Either way, Daichi's heart has been doing all sorts of acrobatics in his chest and he can't tell if it is from his worry at being found out or something else. He doesn't want to think what that something else could be, quashing it down and returning back to his original purpose of coming here. Maybe if he kept the conversation going they would eventually hit a point where he could gently bring up the idea of getting Kuroo to leave the cove. Diplomacy over violence and all that.

Having convinced himself of his plan, Daichi nods to himself and asks, "What's it like around here?"

Kuroo leans back, planting his hands in the sand. "Well..."

\---

"How's the thing with the cove going?" Suga catches Daichi right before he leaves the village. The wide, trailing ends of Suga's fins stream out behind him, drifting in the currents and circling around them in hypnotising waves.

"Good," Daichi says, not quite meeting Suga's eyes.

"I've seen Hinata and Kageyama playing around the coral reefs lately. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi usually hang out around there so they've been fighting more than usual."

Daichi shifts guiltily. His meetings with Kuroo at the cove have become increasingly frequent, but he still hasn't had the heart to tell him to go away. In fact, he thinks Kuroo has been coming to the cove more often, spending time with his feet in the shallows just to talk to Daichi. It is kind of nice, sitting in the sun and hearing Kuroo tell him all sorts of things about the human world. It might just be curiosity speaking, but he doesn't want to give that all up yet.

"I'll try harder," he tells Suga nevertheless.

Suga grins. "Take your time. It might be a good opportunity for them to try to get along. More importantly, have you actually talked to the human or have you just been watching him?"

"We've talked," Daichi says defensively. "We're coming to a compromise."

"Oh? Good going, future chief." Suga smacks him on the back. "What's he like? I've never spoken to a human."

"He's nice?"

Suga makes a face at him. "Nice? Vocabulary, Daichi. Use your vocabulary."

Daichi rubs at the back of his neck, thinking of Kuroo and the last few times they met. "Well, he's smart, or rather, cunning. I don't think I've gotten a straight answer to any of my questions yet, which is why I can't get him out of the cove. But he also tells really good stories and he's pretty hilarious when he makes an effort. And his hair is an absolute nightmare. Suga, do all humans have hair that just sticks up like that?" Daichi gestures towards his own head, trying to mimic the way Kuroo's hair explodes outwards.

"I wouldn't know, I've never met one," Suga replies, his eyes sparkling. "Does he know that you're a merman?"

"Ah. No." Every time they talked it had been with the rock between them. Kuroo had stopped trying to approach him after that first time, making good on his promise and staying where he was.

Suga nudges him, his eyes warm as he smiles at him. "But I'm envious. It sounds like you got yourself a new friend."

"Friend?" Daichi has never thought about Kuroo that way, but it sounds like a good word for him.

"You seem to be having fun," Suga elaborates. "Don't worry too much about the kids. They can deal with each other."

"What, are you telling me to be irresponsible?" Daichi nudges Suga back.

"Exactly." Suga crosses his arms. "You've been like an old person ever since Ukai named you his successor. All work and no play. You're still young, Daichi. Try to live a little."

Suga's words stick in Daichi's mind as he heads for the cove. Kuroo is already there when he breaks the surface of the sea and ducks back down to glide unseen towards the rocks. Kuroo sits in the shallows, his back to the rock as he looks out at the sea, and Daichi takes care to keep out of sight as he goes around to the other side.

"Hey," Daichi calls out once he gets into position.

Kuroo brightens up as he turns his way. "Hey to you too, Sawamura. Not coming out from behind the rock again today?"

Daichi shakes his head and Kuroo laughs. "You know, I'm starting to think that you're a mermaid or something with the amount of time you spend in the water. Do you even have legs?"

Panic flares in Daichi and he lashes his tail to shake it off. "Of course I do. I just like staying in the water."

"If that's what you're fine with. See, I'm wearing swim shorts so I'm in the water today for a change. I guess you are onto something here. The water does feel nice."

Daichi glances at Kuroo's legs. The material of his clothes looks different today, but other than that he can't tell the difference. Kuroo catches him looking, a grin spreading over his face as he stretches his legs out before him, showing them off.

Daichi drops his gaze down to his tail, flapping it slightly and watching the water ripple all around it. He likes his tail, as far as tails goes. It is broad and strong, enough to get him through tides and fend off predators, and he takes care of it when he has the time, keeping his scales clean and glossy. While it is ordinary, not beautiful the way Suga's silver tail and flowing fins are, or eccentric like Noya's ever-changing patterns and spikes, he still likes it all the same.

"Sawamura," Kuroo calls, breaking Daichi out of his thoughts.

"Hm?"

There is a worried furrow between Kuroo's eyebrows as he says, "I didn't mean it."

"Didn't mean what?" Daichi asks, wondering if he had missed something Kuroo said.

"You know, about your legs. I wouldn't mind even if you didn't have legs. Or anything, really." There is something open and honest about his gaze, his eyes careful as they search out Daichi's. "I mean, if that's what's keeping you behind that rock."

"I do have legs," Daichi insists, even as his eyes flit down guiltily to his tail. He tucks himself against the rock, keeping himself half-turned away from Kuroo and missing the panic that flashes over Kuroo's face.

Daichi has never been good with dealing with lies. Sure, there have been times when he had to lie, but they were small things like telling Hinata kelp made him grow taller so that he would eat it. But he has never had to keep up so many lies at once, to Suga and especially Kuroo, who had no idea what Daichi really was. He has to sort things out before they grew out of hand, as lies were prone to doing so.

The first thing he has to do is get Kuroo away from the cove so that the merpeople could return. He likes Kuroo well enough and if Daichi was being entirely honest with himself, he knows that their meetings have been keeping Kuroo here. If Daichi goes away, there was a good chance that Kuroo would too.

But at the same time, his chest twinges at the thought of not being able to talk to Kuroo again. Suga had said that he had gained a friend in Kuroo and he likes the sound of that. He doesn't want to break what they had going on between them.

_"Try to live a little."_

The conversation he had with Suga echoes in his head and Daichi hesitates, steeling himself to face Kuroo before he loses his nerve.

"Kuroo," he says and Kuroo perks up at the sound of his name, turning readily towards Daichi.

The tide had come in since they started talking, reaching all the way up to Kuroo's waist and submerging his legs in water, and it strikes Daichi again how similar they really are, merperson and human. Kuroo has been making an effort to accommodate him from the start, sitting in the water the whole time he was here and never coming close after Daichi asked him not to. Daichi wants to do the same for him before he asks Kuroo to leave and an idea strikes him, leaving him dizzy and just a bit exhilarated.

His mouth moves before his brain catches up and he finds himself saying, "I'll meet you here next week. On land. With my own two legs."

Water splashes all around Kuroo as he twists his body fully towards Daichi. There is a smile on his face, a proper smile, not the smirks and grins Daichi was growing used to, as he says, "Whoa, really?"

Daichi nods, not quite sure what else to say.

"I'll take you someplace good then." Kuroo recovers some of his usual composure, his eyes bright, teasing, as he adds, "It's a date."

\---

"You don't have legs," Suga says flatly, crossing his arms over his chest after Daichi recounts yesterday's conversation with Kuroo.

"Not yet, anyway," Daichi answers, coolly determined. "I'm going to see Shimizu."

Suga sighs, a long suffering puff of air that bubbles in the water. "Daichi, I know I told you to live a little but this might be living too much."

"Can't take back what you already said," Daichi retorts as he glides through the water, keeping his eyes resolutely forward.

"Isn't it kind of dangerous?" Asahi asks nervously from Daichi's other side, keeping up with them with powerful strokes of his tail.

"Everything's dangerous to you." Daichi slaps Asahi lightly with his tail, trying to shake off his own nerves about doing this.

"He's got a point. You won't go into the kelp forest after running into that selkie," Suga remarks, amused. To Daichi, he says, "Are you sure about this? There are easier ways to drive humans off our territory, just saying."

"You wouldn't resort to those methods and neither would I," Daichi tells him. "You know that."

"Not if I thought my best friend was putting himself in danger." There is steel in Suga's voice and eyes as they search out Daichi, who meets him head-on, refusing to back down. Then Suga sighs out another stream of bubbles. "But I guess you know what you're doing. If you say you want legs, then we're going to get you the best damn legs Shimizu has."

"Do we even know if Shimizu does legs?" Asahi asks from behind Daichi, trailing behind at the first sign that Daichi and Suga were about to blow up into some epic quarrel.

"Shimizu does everything," Suga says.

"She also does legs," Daichi confirms. "Where do you think Saeko and Akiteru went?"

Daichi continues forward before he notices that both Asahi and Suga have fallen behind. When he turns back, Suga is quiet and Asahi looks stricken.

"You're not leaving us for good, are you, Daichi?" Asahi asks uncertainly like if he says it out it won't happen.

"I'm not!" Daichi bursts out laughing at the absurdity of his question. "Where did you even get that idea?"

"Well, it's just that you suddenly want legs and all..."

"I'm just going to make sure the human stays away from the cove and then I'll be back again, tail and all." Daichi pokes him with the end of his tail. "Anyway, if I leave who's going to be there to whip you into shape?"

A smile flutters nervously across Asahi's face. "You're right."

The entrance to Shimizu's cave looms before them and Daichi pauses to call out, "Shimizu?"

"Come in," Shimizu's quiet voice floats out, sending deep vibrations through the water.

The inside of the cave is dim, save for a few stray beams of sunlight filtering through the entrance they pass through. Shimizu is a massive, dark shape at the very back of the cave, her tentacles unfurling and pushing her out into the light, each one as big as a merperson's body. She perches herself on a flat rock, curling her tentacles around her delicately as she regards them with deep black eyes.

"Hello, Shimizu. How are you today?" Suga greets cheerily.

She smiles, ducking her head to look at him. "I'm fine. Yachi was just here a while ago."

"Wasn't she out playing with Hinata and Kageyama?"

"She said she had something to give me." Shimizu shifts, touching a tentacle to the tiny shell sitting beside her.

"Another one to add to your collection, I suppose," Asahi says, looking at a shelf by Shimizu's head, carved deep into the stone and holding a pretty assortment of shells. "Yachi's hoarding is rubbing off on you, Shimizu."

"I appreciate it. They brighten up the cave." Shimizu places the new shell on the shelf, straightening it gently with the tip of a tentacle before she turns her attention back on them. "What can I do for you today?"

Suga nudges Daichi forward and Daichi clears his throat, trying to find his voice, which had disappeared the moment he entered the cave. "Shimizu, I need your help. There's been a human hanging around the cove and the merpeople are uneasy about that so I was wondering if you had a spell that could turn me human for a bit. So I can go and negotiate with him."

"Are you looking for a temporary or a permanent spell?"

"Temporary." Daichi says firmly.

"I can do that for you. Temporary spells are much easier to fix up than permanent ones." The ends of Shimizu's tentacles curl and uncurl thoughtfully. "But as with all spells, I have to give you a warning."

Daichi's heart lurches. "What warning?"

"I won't be giving you the same spell I used on Saeko and Akiteru, but it's a similar variation. It's very delicate." Shimizu explains, "Magic is very much affected by purpose, emotions. The two I mentioned had very strong reasons for going up to the land and that's why the spell worked so well for them. I know you, Sawamura, and I know the lengths you would go for our village, but you need to be careful while under the spell or something temporary could end up being permanent."

"Got it." Daichi nods, forcing confidence into his voice, mindful of the way Suga and Asahi turn towards him, their worry palpable in the water. "I'll just chase him away and then come straight back."

"I'll need a while to prepare a charm." Shimizu turns away from them, riffling through her shelves. "Could you come back in three days? And I'll need Tanaka and Nishinoya to help me with ingredients."

"Thanks, Shimizu. We'll send them your way when we get back," Daichi tells her. "That is, if they weren't already hanging around nearby."

\---

A shell dangles from Shimizu's tentacle, hanging from a cord and drifting in the water. She offers it to Daichi and he takes it, turning it over in his hands curiously. It has a simple design, a normal spiral cone that opens up into a narrow mouth, but there is a pretty splash of marbled brown swirling down one side that makes Daichi think that Yachi might have given it to Shimizu at some point.

"Thank you, Shimizu," Daichi says, wrapping the cord around his wrist securely.

"The shell is one of Yachi's," Shimizu says as if she read his mind. "It's for protection."

Yachi peeks out from behind Shimizu, her tiny tentacles shooting her forward as she comes over to look at it. Standing side by side, she is barely bigger than Daichi's head and he holds out the shell for her inspection. Her face lights up as she recognises it.

"I found this one by the shore," Yachi squeaks excitedly. "I nearly got eaten by a seagull that day but Kageyama fended it off for me and the shell came loose in the process."

Suga and Asahi whip around to look at her with varying expressions of concern and fear. Daichi feels a furrow form between his eyebrows. "What?"

"It's fine! It's fine!" Yachi backtracks, waving her hands frantically in front of her. "Hinata and Kageyama and Yamaguchi and Tsukishima and even the harpies have been looking out for me so I'm safe!"

"You've become so strong, Yachi." Asahi pats her on the head, his face still pale at the thought of Yachi getting eaten.

"Sawamura," Shimizu says and Daichi turns his attention back on her. "After you wear that around your neck, your form will change depending on whether you're on land or in the sea. The shell and the cord make up the whole spell so damaging one or the other will break the spell."

"So once I put this on, the spell will be in effect?" Daichi holds it out, staring at the simple shell in front of him.

"For as long as you have it on."

It is a temporary spell, Daichi reassures himself, running Shimizu's words over in his mind again. He can't imagine what it would be like without his tail, with legs like Kuroo's, walking on land instead of swimming in the sea. It seems unnatural and Daichi suppresses a shudder at the thought of it. Temporary, he reminds himself, squaring his shoulders and clamping his fist around the shell.

"You will need clothes as well," Shimizu continues, her deep black eyes watching Daichi closely. "Apparently, a large part of human decency involves wearing clothes."

The word "decency" rings a bell and Daichi recalls what Kuroo had said to him the first time they talked. "Wait, so when the human asked if I was 'indecently attired' he was asking if I was...?"

"Wearing any clothes."

"Ah." So all this time he had been committing some major human faux pas and Kuroo had known about it. He slaps a hand over his face, mortified. "I feel like I've failed at pretending to be human already."

"Don't worry, Daichi!" Yachi chirps, zipping around him in excited spurts. "That's why Kiyoko called me over. I know human fashion and I've got some stuff you can wear to impress the human."

"I don't really need to impress the human," Daichi says awkwardly. He doesn't even remember what Kuroo had worn each time they met, if they had been different clothes or the same ones every time. The only time he had taken notice was when Kuroo said he was wearing swim shorts and even then Daichi had a hard time telling them apart from what he usually wore.

"Think of it as being our merperson representative to the humans. We can't lose to the humans in terms of something as basic as fashion," Suga chimes in with a wicked look in his eyes. "Anyway, he said it was a date, didn't he?"

Yachi gasps, her eyes going round. "A date? Daichi, are you running off with the human? It's like that story about the mermaid princess and the human prince."

"I can't believe it." Suga shakes his head. "We give the boy some legs and the first thing he does with them is run off with some human with bad hair."

Asahi stays silent but Daichi can read the stricken look on his face loud and clear.

Daichi scowls, reaching out to thump Asahi on the back.

"I didn't say anything!" Asahi rubs at the spot where Daichi whacked him, drifting out of reach just in case of another sudden attack.

"You didn't need to, your face says it all," Daichi retorts, turning towards Suga with a frown. "And you, stop that. No one's doing any running off. I'm just going to settle the cove business with the human, that's all." He takes a deep breath, thinking calming thoughts so that he doesn't scare Yachi. "Shimizu, Yachi, thanks for your help."

Yachi bobs her head, her tentacles still twitching in excitement. She darts off towards the back of the cave, disappearing into a hanging wall of seaweed and Daichi follows her in at a more sedate pace.

\---

Walking, Daichi decides, is possibly the worst form of transportation any living creature could possibly think of.

"You certainly aren't going to be running off with anybody if you can't even walk," Suga comments, eyeing Daichi critically as he crumples onto the sand for what feels like the hundredth time. Suga is lying on his stomach, flicking his tail in and out of the water lazily, watching as Daichi stumbles around on his newly formed legs.

Daichi exhales angrily, stretching his legs out before him and glaring at them. Yachi had taught him about the parts of a human leg and he runs his hands across his legs, going through them in his head—toes, heels, ankles, calves, knees, and thighs. They are all covered in sand after his repeated falls and it feels uncomfortable against his skin.

"Wanna take a break?" Suga suggests, sensing that Daichi was reaching the limits of his patience.

Daichi shakes his head, taking a deep breath as he gets to his knees again, wobbling as he stands up. He totters on the spot for a moment, his heels digging into the sand as he tries to find his balance. Only when he has both feet firmly on the ground does he take a step forward, throwing his arms out for balance. He transfers his weight over to the front foot, taking another stumbling step forward and then another before he loses balance, sending him down into the sand again.

"Take a break, Daichi," Suga tells him sympathetically as he falls onto his backside.

"How do humans even do this" —Daichi gestures at his legs— "walking thing? Two legs are the worst for balancing."

"They probably take a while to master it. You've only been at this for a day."

"I know." Daichi tugs at his toes, the sandy sensation that runs up his nerves strange and unfamiliar. "But what if I don't make it in time to meet Kuroo? I don't really want to plant face-first into the ground the first time I meet him like this." Daichi's mouth twists into a scowl. "He'll probably laugh at me."

"He will," Suga agrees. "I know I did."

"Wow. Really feeling the best friend support here."

"Always happy to help. But really, Daichi, I think you're making good progress here, considering you know." Suga waves his tail for emphasis. "Anyway, there's still a week to go before you meet him. You'll make it."

"Easy for you to say. I think I have sand in places I didn't even know it was possible to get sand in." Daichi sighs.

He leans back, dropping onto the sand and facing skyward. The shell falls against his collarbone and he holds it up to the sun, twisting it and watching the light reflect off its smooth surface. It doesn't look magical at all but it had done its job, taking away his tail and leaving behind a pair of good, solid legs, even if he was beginning to doubt their functionality. It was a surreal experience going from merman to human so suddenly and Daichi never thought that there would be a day where he would be without his tail. He kind of misses it.

"Daichi, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah?" Daichi answers absently, lifting his legs into the air and flexing his knees, wondering why they didn't want to hold him up when the muscles in them felt strong and sturdy.

"Can you say with certainty that after going through all of this you're going to chase Kuroo away from the cove? Because it seems to me that you really like talking to him."

Daichi drops his legs back onto the sand and sits up to look at Suga. "What?"

Suga raises his hands defensively. "Look, I'm not going to make any judgements about this, but you seem really attached to Kuroo."

"What are you talking about, Suga?" Daichi frowns at him. "I thought we settled this already. I'm just going to talk to Kuroo about not coming back to the cove and then I'll be back."

Suga is trying to get at something here, fishing for something neither of them are fully certain about. He sees his worry reflected in Suga's face, his mouth a thin slash across his face and his eyes a concerned stormy grey.

"Just..." Suga flaps his tail as if to disperse the unease hanging between them. "Be careful, Daichi. You heard Shimizu talk about the spell. It's affected by what you feel—the stronger it is, the higher chance of this being permanent. Do your thing, have fun, but don't forget to come back to us, okay?"

"I'll be fine, Suga. Really." Daichi gives him his best reassuring smile and gets a small one from Suga in return.

Daichi stretches, getting back onto his feet with a grunt and steadying himself with his hands until he is ready to stand again.

\---

Daichi plucks at the front of his shirt nervously. The seashell is tucked against his chest, hidden under his shirt, and he touches a hand to it just to reassure himself of its presence.

It's today.

Daichi had been up bright and early in the morning, swimming circles around the same spot until Suga and Asahi caught him at it. Asahi had shoved a bundle of clothes at him and Suga had shoved food into his mouth before dragging him up to the surface.

Yachi had taught him how to put on the clothes, giving him an impromptu lesson on human fashion and anatomy with her impressive knowledge on humans, but it had still been a struggle figuring out if he was wearing his clothes right. Asahi had assured him that it looked exactly as Yachi had described and Daichi had left it at that, instead of taking it off and putting it on repeatedly.

"Have fun! Remember to come back before bedtime!" Suga calls out, winking at him before they both dive back into the sea.

Suga was joking now but Daichi had seen the looks Suga and Asahi shared when they thought he was not looking. He won't make them worry. Kuroo is a friend, but the sea is his home and he knows exactly where his heart lies.

Daichi paces the shoreline, feeling the scrunch of sand under his toes, the seafoam tickling him as the waves lap at his feet. After almost a week of this, he has gotten used to walking, even though running was still a work in progress and anything else was impossible.

"Sawamura!" He jerks his head up to see Kuroo crossing the sand in long strides, his steps quick and his smile wide as he sees Daichi standing there. "So you do have legs after all."

He stops right before Daichi, his eyes sweeping over him. It is the closest Kuroo has ever been to him and Daichi takes the time to memorise his face, going over features he has only ever seen through the water or across a distance. Kuroo is taller than him, the top of Daichi's head only reaching up to Kuroo's eyes, and Daichi has to tilt his head up to look at him properly.

Up close, Kuroo is a lot less intimidating than Daichi had thought. He looks around Daichi's age, his easy smile falling open as Daichi takes a step closer to peer under his ridiculous floppy fringe. His eyes are wider than usual, uncharacteristically startled, and a faint dusting of pink creeps up his face. Like this, Kuroo is almost cute, except when he opens his mouth to say, "Like what you see, Sawamura?"

"You're not much to look at," Daichi retorts instantly with a teasing smile borrowed from Kuroo himself and the pink in Kuroo's face darkens to red.

He has never seen Kuroo flustered and Daichi ducks away, his heartbeat skipping in his chest. His sandals lie on the sand, just beyond the water, and he takes a step forward to retrieve them.

Somehow, even after a week of practice and a newly built confidence that he won't fall in front of Kuroo, his left foot collides with his right and then he is tripping over his own feet. Kuroo grabs him by the arm before he can meet the ground, holding him until he remembers how to find his footing in the soft sand.

"You say that, but obviously you're already falling for me and my dashing good looks, Sawamura." Kuroo grins, his face scant centimetres away from Daichi's.

Daichi scowls. Kuroo is not exactly laughing at him, but the things he says are on a whole new level of embarrassing. He pushes himself away from Kuroo, teetering on his two legs before he plants his feet firmly in the sand.

The grin on Kuroo's face falters as he tugs at the end of Daichi's sleeve, not quite letting go of him. "Wait, why are your clothes wet? Did you fall into the sea or something?"

"Something like that." Daichi shrugs.

There had not been enough time to dry his clothes before meeting Kuroo, seeing that the collective group of them forgot that a vital part of human fashion first and foremost involved clothes that were not sopping wet. In the end, Daichi had just decided to let them dry while he was wearing them. The sun and the wind had done their best but apparently it was not enough to pass Kuroo's inspection.

"I can't believe the sea beat me to it. You're going to catch a cold like that. Here, at least change your shirt." Kuroo shrugs off his button-up shirt. He wears a tank top under it, his arms just a shade lighter against Daichi's tan skin as he holds his shirt out to him.

"I can't possibly—"

"Take it," Kuroo insists. "I don't want you falling sick on me when we're supposed to be out having fun."

Daichi hesitates and Kuroo cocks an eyebrow at him, his smile disappearing into a thin line.

"Fine." Daichi tugs off his shirt with a quick mental apology to Yachi. Kuroo takes it from him and hands over his shirt. There are buttons on it, which Daichi's fingers are unfamiliar with, but Kuroo waits patiently as he works through them. When Daichi is done, he holds his hand out for his shirt.

Kuroo doesn't pass it back to him, folding it over his arm instead and frowning slightly as he scrutinises Daichi from head to toe. "Are you alright, Sawamura? Jokes aside, you don't seem very steady on your feet."

"I'm fine. My legs are just kind of... not cooperating on me today."

A smile flits across Kuroo's face. "Must be those sea legs of yours. If you're not feeling up to it today, we could always postpone."

"I'm fine," Daichi repeats, fitting his feet into his sandals and pulling them on tight so that he won't fall again. "So where is this 'someplace good' you're taking me?"

Kuroo gives him one last considering look before he drops the subject, taking the lead as they cross the cove. "You'll find out when you get there."

"That's not much of an answer."

"I know." Kuroo is back to his usual annoying self and Daichi breathes a sigh of relief as he catches up with him.

"Someplace good" ends up being a small restaurant on the edge of town, within walking distance of Kuroo's house and run by a family called Haiba, whose youngest son owes Kuroo a favour.

"Actually it's more like multiple favours, but I'm nice enough to let him off with one," Kuroo elaborates as they stop in front of a wooden house raised above the ground by stilts. "This kid just doesn't know how to stop getting himself in trouble."

"Kuroo!" a boy shouts a welcome, bounding down the stairs in loping strides, all long limbs and no coordination. He looms tall, even taller than Kuroo, his green eyes sparkling as he comes to a stop before them.

"Hey, Lev," Kuroo says, ushering Daichi up the stairs and through the door with casual familiarity. "How's business today?"

Lev trails behind, talking all the way as Kuroo settles them down at a table. "The breakfast crowd was good. But things are a little slow now as you can see."

Daichi follows Lev's arm as it sweeps over the restaurant, taking the opportunity to look around him. He hasn't stopped looking at things since he left the cove, turning this way and that as they headed into town, fascinated by a place he has only ever heard about.

Everything on land looks so bright without the seawater to filter out the light, glowing with an intensity that catches Daichi's attention at every step. He had felt Kuroo watching him through it all, his amusement rolling off him in waves, but Daichi had chosen not to react to the unspoken provocation in favour of taking in his surroundings.

The inside of the Haiba's restaurant is different again, its muted colours reminding him of the sea. The walls are a clever patchwork of driftwood, toning the atmosphere down into one of serene calm, accentuated by the sunlight that streams through the wide windows all around. The light forms wavering patterns as they pass through the glass and when Daichi looks at them closely, they almost look like waves when seen from underwater.

There are only two other occupied tables in the restaurant, both sets of customers quiet and unobtrusive. In a place like this, Lev stands out, a striking silver-headed figure jittering with restless energy as Daichi turns his eyes towards him.

"It's a nice place." Daichi offers him a smile.

"Thanks!" Lev gives him a wide smile in return and there is a frankness about him that reminds Daichi of Hinata. "My sis designed the place."

"Is she here today?" Kuroo asks conversationally, slipping into place opposite Daichi and sliding a plastic folder across the table. Daichi hadn't noticed when he had gotten up. "I'm so going to tell her that you're slacking off. I'm here as a customer today, you know."

Lev pulls a face at him. "Boo. You work here anyway. You know where everything is." Kuroo raises an eyebrow at him and Lev quickly adds, "But please don't tell my sis. She's going to be so embarrassed."

"She spoils you," Kuroo says singsong. "We need Yaku back here to whip you into shape. Sawamura, what do you want to eat? It's on Lev."

"Uh." Daichi stares down at the menu before him, full of glossy pictures he can't recognise and accompanying descriptions that are not particularly helpful. "What do you recommend?"

"Recommendations? I'm on it!" Lev salutes them, skipping off towards a back door before Kuroo can answer.

"Hey, take _my_ order at least!" Kuroo yells at Lev's retreating back, his eyes wide with indignation.

"I guess you're having what I'm having." Daichi grins at him.

Kuroo shuts the menu with a snap and a sigh. "Well, at least I can guarantee everything that comes out of the kitchen is good."

"You work here?" Daichi asks, recalling that line of conversation.

"Yeah, part-time during summers. The Haibas moved in only a few years back but they fit in here pretty well."

"Lev's friendly."

"Friendly is an understatement. He scared some of the senior citizens living around here at first but everyone's taken a liking to him."

Looking at Lev, Daichi thinks he would get along with the younger merpeople under his care. He buzzes with the same tireless energy Hinata has, bouncing all over the place and then some. So far only Kageyama has been able to keep up with him while Tsukishima opted to stay as far away from him as possible, pulling Yamaguchi away from the pair of them before he got infected by their "idiocy". The corals must be suffering now with all of them cooped up in the same area.

Which brings his attention back to his purpose of meeting Kuroo like this. Kuroo is watching him, trying to be subtle about it, turning his face away when Daichi glances his way, but not fast enough that it goes unnoticed by Daichi.

Daichi takes a deep breath and asks, "Kuroo, why do you hang around the cove so much?"

Kuroo looks surprised but he recovers quickly, tacking on a wry smile as he says, "Take a wild guess."

Again. Daichi tries not to roll his eyes. "I meant before we met."

Kuroo drums his fingers against the tabletop. "I like it there. It's peaceful. And I know a good way in."

He does. One of the things that had prevented humans from reaching the cove is the towering wall of rocks surrounding it. Daichi had been wondering about that until Kuroo showed him a narrow gap in it that was his way in and out of the cove. It was wedged between two particularly jagged rocks, overlapping in such a way that it was almost impossible to tell it was there.

Kuroo told him he had found it by chance. He had not asked Daichi how he got into the cove and Daichi had not offered an answer and the subject had been dropped after that.

"You shouldn't go to the cove anymore," Daichi tells him. A hurt look passes over Kuroo's face and Daichi finds himself hurriedly adding, "It's dangerous there."

"Dangerous?"

"I saw a shark there once." It is half a lie—the closest thing he has seen to a shark there is Tanaka who, coincidentally, is also half a shark.

"If that's the case, you should take your own advice and stay away from the cove, Sawamura. You're the one who spends all that time in the water," Kuroo replies, resting both elbows on the table as he leans in, his eyes flicking up to meet Daichi's. "Hey, but now that we've established that you actually do have legs, you can meet me here in town. I can show you around."

The smile that creeps onto Kuroo's face is entrancing, his face pink again despite the confidence he is trying to exude, and Daichi looks away quickly.

His work here is done. He got Kuroo to stay away from the cove. Now Hinata and Kageyama and everyone else could use it freely without human interference. He can go back home to the sea and never have to set foot on the surface again.

But Kuroo is still looking at him, his eyes alight with possibilities, telling him to stay, and Daichi finds himself glancing back at him, drawn towards what Kuroo is offering him.

\---

"Daichi!" Suga screeches, throwing himself at Daichi as soon as he gets within range, his fins hitting Daichi right in the face.

"Welcome back, Daichi," Asahi says, approaching at a more reasonable pace, although he looks as delighted as Suga.

"How did things on the surface go?" Suga releases him, holding him at arm's length and scrutinising him from head to tail.

Daichi scrubs at his face, trying to get the feeling of Suga's fins in his mouth out. "It went fine. I got Kuroo to stay away from the cove, I think. You can tell Hinata that it's safe to go back there."

"You think?" Suga latches on to that immediately, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I might need to go back and check one more time?"

"Daichi." Suga crosses his arms over his chest, looking completely unimpressed with him.

It is the flimsiest excuse ever and he knows it, Suga knows it and Asahi knows it. Daichi just wants to see Kuroo again and he doesn't know why, let alone how to start explaining himself.

They had agreed to meet again next week, in town instead of the cove. Kuroo had renewed his promise of taking Daichi "someplace good". Having lived there all his life, Kuroo knows the town and everyone in it like the back of his hand. It is a small town and everywhere Kuroo describes seems to be within walking distance—the cove, the Haiba's restaurant, his house. Daichi wants to see everything, if Kuroo is willing to take him there.

Surprisingly, Asahi speaks up for him, not quite pushing between Daichi and Suga, but hovering close anyway. "I think it should be fine. I mean, you came back. And it sounds like you had fun up there."

"You do," Suga says grudgingly. He pulls at Daichi's cheeks as if he was Hinata or Natsu. "Look at you, you're glowing."

"Ow," Daichi complains, his voice coming out muffled, and Suga lets go of him.

"Must have been that date," Suga muses.

"Are you meeting Kuroo again?" Asahi asks.

"He is the only person I know up there..." Daichi rubs at the back of his neck, his skin hot under his hand.

"Sure." Suga grins at him and Daichi feels the heat rush into his face.

\---

Kuroo had been right when he said that everything in town was within walking distance, given that one had the strength and persistence to last through hours of walking under the summer sun.

Daichi doesn't mind. It serves as good practice anyway, giving him a chance to get used to his legs and the flex of his muscles as he walks, the sensation so different from how his tail had felt.

Kuroo is good company as Daichi already knows from their days at the cove, entertaining Daichi with stories from his daily life or short bits of history about places they pass by. Over time, Daichi starts telling Kuroo stories of his own, stories of the sea, about the merpeople around him, replacing every other detail with new terms on land he learns from Kuroo. It delights Kuroo, who encourages him to open up about his life, nudging him for more details when Daichi clams up, not quite sure how to proceed from one story to the next.

Today, Kuroo wears a floppy straw hat with a wide brim, his shirt sleeves rolled up his arms and his shorts cut off around his knees to fend off the heat. The clothes Daichi has on are thankfully dry this time and Daichi flaps the cloth at the front of his shirt, trying to fan himself with it.

"Here." Something drops onto his head, covering his eyes, and Daichi reaches up to push it back. It is Kuroo's hat and Kuroo grins at him from beyond its straw brim as he adjusts it. "Your turn to wear it."

The hair on the top of Kuroo's head springs back into its usual style, rejoicing in its freedom, and Daichi snickers. Kuroo follows his gaze, his lips curving down in a pout as he touches his hair. "Wow, rude, Sawamura. I thought we got over the whole thing about making fun of each other's appearances."

"Not with hair like that. Are you sure it's not a separate living entity?" Daichi reaches up to pull at a wayward spike.

"Actually, I'm not sure myself," Kuroo admits. "It seems especially active in the morning. But as long as it makes me look cool, it can stay."

Daichi raises an eyebrow at him and Kuroo punches him in the arm before he can say anything. Daichi laughs, breaking away from Kuroo and his indignant expression, his head thrown back to the sunlight. His laughter rings out in the air, his voice taking on a clarity it hadn't had in the water and it startles him. He tugs at the hat before it falls off his head and turns back to Kuroo.

Kuroo is staring, the curve of his mouth soft, parted slightly as he breathes. Daichi can see the rise and fall of his chest through the thin material of his shirt, the movement so shallow it is as if he has stopped breathing entirely. His eyes flit from side to side, fixed entirely on Daichi. Then Kuroo blinks and he is back to his usual self, stepping close to crowd Daichi's space with a smirk.

"Are you tired, Sawamura? I know walking isn't really your forte with those sea legs of yours."

It takes Daichi a moment to process the change, his mouth working open and close as he tries to adjust to Kuroo, fighting down the sudden embarrassment he had felt in those few fleeting seconds.

"Not really," he finally manages to get out.

"Either way, we're here." Kuroo stops and gestures grandly.

There is a low stone wall before them, running around an entire expanse of land, richly green and thickly clustered with trees. Kuroo walks forward, unlatching a wooden gate fixed into it and gesturing for Daichi to go in.

"Where is 'here' exactly?" Daichi asks as he steps inside.

"The Kozume apple orchard. It's not mine by the way. As you know, I'm Kuroo. Kozume is a friend." Kuroo follows him in and closes the gate behind him. "Now, I know apples are near impossible to grow this close to the sea but don't underestimate the Kozumes. They've been doing this for generations."

Daichi would not have known that, but he nods anyway. The trees all around him are heavy with fruit, round and red, half-hidden amongst the leaves. He stops by the closest tree to stare at it, running a careful hand over the smooth surface of a low-hanging apple.

They got fruit sometimes in the sea through trade with other species, particularly the harpies. The merpeople provided them with a steady supply of fish and the harpies gave whatever they could depending on the season. Once, they had gotten apples and that was the only time Daichi had seen one. He knew that it grew on trees but he has never seen it in person.

"We could pick some later if you want," Kuroo says from beside him. "Although it's sort of out of season at the moment."

"I thought you said this wasn't your place."

"It isn't. But the Kozumes are fine with it, provided we don't pick their place clean." Kuroo waves a hand at him, leading him deeper into the orchard. "Don't worry about it."

As they pass through the rows of trees, Kuroo snags his hat off Daichi's head, fitting it back over his sentient hair and looking back at Daichi, his mouth open to say something. Kuroo suddenly disappears from sight and Daichi looks down to see him drop onto the grass, catching himself on his hands and knees.

There is a boy sitting against the shade of a tree with Kuroo's foot caught around his ankle. He inches his legs back, his knees hitting his chest and his eyes glued to a rectangular object in his hands. From where Daichi is standing, he is startlingly blond, save for the top of his head, where his natural brown-black is beginning to show through.

"Kuroo, watch where you're going," says the boy without looking up.

"Kenma!" Kuroo gets to his feet, brushing bits of grass off himself. "What are you doing here?"

"Playing MonHun."

"Why are you playing MonHun in the orchard? You usually do that at home."

"I can't. Mom told me to get out for some fresh air."

"You'll roast out here." Kuroo plops his hat onto Kenma's head and Kenma shifts as its shadow falls over his screen.

"There's shade here."

"Have you been keeping yourself hydrated?"

Kenma jerks his head towards a bottle lying on its side at his feet, half-filled with water.

Kuroo sighs and turns back to Daichi. "Anyway, Sawamura, this is Kozume Kenma. His family owns this apple orchard. Kenma, this is Sawamura."

"Hello," Daichi says as he leans down, careful not to cast a shadow over Kenma's game.

"Hello," Kenma says back, looking up to meet his gaze before his eyes shift sideways like he isn't used to doing that.

His eyes are sharp like Kuroo's, his irises a careful golden-brown, darkened by the shade of the trees. Daichi pulls back to give Kenma his space when he suddenly feels those eyes on him again, piercing and directed at his chest, exactly where the seashell lies under his shirt.

Daichi freezes, fighting back the urge to close his hand around the shell and hide it from Kenma's sight. He straightens back up, concentrating his senses on the boy before him and his spine stiffens as a familiar tingle runs through him.

Magic.

It is faint but it is there, a feeling not unlike the one he gets from Shimizu. But where Shimizu's magic feels like a constant, steady stream, Kenma's magic feels still and quiet, almost like it is not there.

Kuroo looks between them, catching on to the sudden shift in atmosphere, and Daichi tries to relax even with the cold dread of fear running up his spine. There is a chance that Kenma could recognise the magic on him, what it is for and what he is. This is not the way he wants Kuroo to find out he is a merman. He is not ready.

Then Kenma looks away, his thumbs clacking over the buttons on his device. "No, nevermind. I thought I recognised Sawamura from somewhere."

"He's not from around here." Kuroo frowns.

"Maybe it's because you talk about him so much, Kuroo. A mental picture got formed in my head."

Kuroo whips his head towards Daichi and then back to Kenma again. "I do not. At least not _that_ much."

"You do. Like all the time."

Daichi breathes out a silent sigh of relief. Kenma had let him off or he just had not known exactly what Daichi was hiding, but Daichi is grateful nevertheless. And he is not going to waste the free pass Kenma gave him.

"You talk about me?" Daichi asks Kuroo, arching an eyebrow at him.

"In moderation," Kuroo says quickly.

"All the time," Kenma corrects quietly.

Kuroo reaches for Daichi, his fingers fumbling around his wrist as he pulls him away from Kenma. "Okay! We'll be moving on first. Kenma, see you later. Don't overheat yourself or your game."

"See you," Kenma echoes, his concentration fixed on the game in front of him.

Kuroo continues dragging Daichi forward by the hand, determined to put some space between Kenma and them. The pink is still there in his face and Daichi finds himself wanting to lean up and press his lips against it, just to see how Kuroo would react. His brain catches up with him a second too late and Daichi feels his face heat up after that thought passes. He slaps a hand over his face to dispel it, stumbling over his steps as his concentration wavers.

"Kenma used to be such a cute kid but now he just sasses me all the time," Kuroo mutters, not noticing Daichi's predicament behind him. "I used to carry him on my shoulders so he could pick apples but he refuses to do it now that he's all grown up. So much for being childhood friends."

"You seem close."

"We still are. Literally. His house is right next to mine." Kuroo finally lets go of his hand, turning back to face him. "So then, are you ready to give apple-picking a try?"

"So that was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Daichi grins, hoping that his face has returned to its usual colour. "You missed picking apples with Kenma so you brought me over as a substitute. What, are you going to carry me on your shoulders?"

Kuroo pauses like he is seriously considering that idea. Then his eyes flit to Daichi's legs, then up again, and he swallows hard. "Nah, I might die."

Daichi's eyebrows snap together. "I know I'm heavy but I'm not _that_ heavy."

Kuroo shakes his head vehemently, his eyes going back to Daichi's legs. "No, no, it'll be a good death. A really good death. But I don't think I'm ready for that. Dying the good death."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Kuroo tears his eyes away from Daichi and reaches for a ladder propped up against a nearby tree. "No, nevermind that. What I'm trying to say is let's just use a safer method of picking apples. Safety first and all. Maybe that's what Kenma was trying to tell me."

"You were the one getting all nostalgic in the first place," Daichi points out.

"I know. My bad. I was in the wrong." Kuroo swings the ladder over to its neighbouring tree and stares up into its branches intently before leaning the ladder against it. "Here, you first."

Daichi hesitates, suddenly remembering that he hasn't done anything more complicated with his legs than climbing stairs. "We could always go for the low ones instead."

"You're no fun, Sawamura. Apple-picking is all about going for the high ones." Kuroo pats a rung. "Get over here. I'll support you so don't worry too much about it."

There is no real reason for him to refuse and Daichi puts his foot on the first rung, testing the feel of it as he latches on tight to the sides of the ladder. He keeps his eyes on his feet as he moves upwards, pulling himself up by his arms instead of putting all his weight on his legs. It works and he shuffles up a few more rungs, with Kuroo holding the ladder steady under him as promised, nodding encouragingly as Daichi reaches the lowest branch.

"Try getting that one," Kuroo calls and Daichi looks forward to where an apple sways just within his reach. "Don't just pluck it off. Cup it in your hand and twist it upwards carefully."

It seems simple enough and Daichi hooks an arm around the side of the ladder, leaning forward to do as Kuroo instructed. It comes off easily enough and Kuroo grins at him from below, motioning for him to drop it towards him.

The rest of the afternoon goes by like that with Kuroo hauling the ladder around and the both of them taking turns to climb up. Kuroo scrambles up the ladder with ease, looking far more graceful than Daichi could ever manage, and Daichi tries not to feel envious about that.

As Kuroo had said, it is not quite the season for apple-picking and when evening rolls around, they only have a lapful of apples between them, the ones Kuroo deemed ripe enough to pick. Kuroo collects Kenma on their way out, stealing his hat back and dropping the apples into it.

There is a truck waiting outside the gate and Kuroo pauses to talk to the driver while Kenma slips into the seat next to him.

"Let's go, Sawamura." Kuroo turns away from the driver. "We aren't walking back with Naoi here."

The driver waves at Daichi as Kuroo climbs in the back of the truck and Daichi smiles back, nodding in thanks as he follows Kuroo. After a day of climbing, he has more confidence in his legs and he finds it easy enough to swing himself up and over into the back of the truck. As he settles down next to Kuroo, the truck rumbles under him and starts down the road back to the cove.

The ride back is bumpy, knocking Daichi's shoulder into Kuroo's occasionally. But it is nice not having to walk all the way back, even though it has gotten cooler now that the sun is setting. It is quiet out here, so far from the heart of town and the sea, where the sound of the waves can't reach them. If Daichi strains, he can still smell the sea on the breeze faintly, mixing with the crisp scent of the apples between them.

Kuroo is saying something, rolling apples into Daichi's lap one at a time, and Daichi lets his head drop onto Kuroo's shoulder, closing his eyes and letting the golden haze of evening wash over him.

\---

Hinata liked the apples Daichi brought back with him, as did Kageyama and Yamaguchi and even Tsukishima, although it was hard to tell with him. Daichi had dropped two off at Shimizu's cave and distributed the rest around.

"We should consider opening trade with humans," Suga had told him while chomping down into one. "These are really good."

Daichi had briefly wondered if he should tell Suga and Asahi about Kenma, but nothing had really happened then and he had not wanted to make them worry over him. He thought of speaking to Shimizu about the existence of magic users on land but she had not been in when he dropped off the apples. There were other times he could go see her and he had left it at that. Today, he was going to see Kuroo again.

It has become something of a routine, meeting up with Kuroo every week, sometimes twice in a week. Kuroo makes good on his promise to show Daichi around town, taking him to specific places or just walking with him on the outskirts of town. They don't go back to the cove again, together at least. Daichi still returns there every night after they part, slipping into the water and swimming straight back home.

One night on his way back to the cove, Daichi doesn't notice the soft patter of feet behind him until an arm wraps around his waist and a chin lands on his shoulder, a body colliding with his back as he comes to a surprised stop.

"Kuroo?" Daichi questions as Kuroo pulls away, barely making out the outline of his lean body and terrible hair in the faint moonlight.

Kuroo has gained extra layers of clothing since Daichi last saw him, wrapped up in a jacket with a sweater hanging low around his hips. There is a bag slung over his shoulder, bulky but soft, moulded against his back.

Daichi thought that he had left Kuroo back in town when they parted for the night, making sure that Kuroo had completely disappeared down the road before he set off for the cove. They are not quite at the cove yet, but Daichi's chest flutters nervously at the thought of Kuroo following him back and seeing him dive into the sea.

"Finally caught up with you." Kuroo sounds out of breath and Daichi realises that Kuroo is panting, his body temperature higher than usual when he had pressed up against his back. He must have run the whole way to catch up with him.

"Did I forget something?" Daichi asks, running through their day's activities in his head and brushing a hand over the seashell under his shirt.

"Things would be so much easier if you had a phone," Kuroo says wryly. "No, you didn't. It's not like you carry anything with you anyway."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Do you want to go back to the cove with me?"

"What?" Daichi frowns at Kuroo. He thought that he had already settled this whole issue during their first meeting in town. Kuroo had shown no interest in the cove after they started meeting up in town and Daichi had avoided mentioning it altogether, turning down Kuroo's offers to walk him back at night.

Kuroo runs a hand through his hair, carefully avoiding Daichi's gaze. "We don't have to go into the water. I remember what you said about the shark. We can just stay on the sand."

It is night and there shouldn't be anyone at the cove but it still doesn't sit right with Daichi. He had promised Hinata and the others that he would get Kuroo away from the cove and he had. It feels counterproductive to bring him back now after all that work.

"Why do you want to go back to the cove?" Daichi folds his arms over his chest, waiting for Kuroo's response, which he seems to be taking an unusually long time with. He can't quite make out Kuroo's face in the near-dark and he startles as Kuroo suddenly steps in close to clap both hands down on his shoulders.

"It's a nice place," Kuroo starts and stops there, at loss for words.

"Yeah, it is?" Daichi agrees, confused, and Kuroo huffs out a quiet sigh, dropping his forehead onto Daichi's shoulder.

"You're making things so difficult, Sawamura," Kuroo mutters.

"No, I think you're the one making things difficult here." Daichi pushes at him. "Why do you want to go back to the cove?"

"Well, it's a nice place and a nice night and I just want to hang out with you."

"You just spent the entire day with me," Daichi points out, "and there are other places where you can hang out with me."

"Sawamura," Kuroo says seriously, straightening up and finally looking Daichi in the eye. "The cove is a very romantic place. A prime date location even."

"What does that— Oh." Daichi goes red. "A date?"

"Only if you're okay with it," Kuroo says quickly. "But, I mean, I thought all this time we were, uh. Going out?" He drops down into a crouch and slaps his hands over his face. "Oh my god, I misunderstood."

Daichi feels like doing the same or running to the sea and diving straight in. He has always thought of Kuroo as a friend, ever since he first got that sorted out by Suga, but it seems like after coming up to the surface, things might have changed between them. When he looks down at Kuroo, who quietly battles against mortification with his hands pressed against his face, Daichi feels a sudden burst of embarrassment that he had not realised it all sooner.

Does he like Kuroo? The thought suddenly strikes Daichi and the urge to jump into the sea comes back, more powerful than ever. He feels like his face is going to spontaneously combust. The road that they are standing on is suddenly too exposed for sorting out this mess of emotions between them. Without thinking, Daichi leans down and pulls Kuroo's hands away from his face, dragging him up by his wrists.

"Let's go to the cove," Daichi blurts out, quickly setting off down the road before he can see the look on Kuroo's face.

Kuroo's bag turns out to be full of blankets, the biggest of which they lay out on the sand in silence. At night, it is cold by the sea and Kuroo offers Daichi the sweater around his waist when the breeze hits them, making them both shiver. Daichi takes it and pulls it on without argument and it reminds him of his first time out of the sea when Kuroo had given him his shirt.

Daichi sits next to Kuroo on the blanket and Kuroo drapes another blanket over his knees, quickly turning the other way without meeting Daichi's eyes. Kuroo is right and the cove at night is romantic, although the awkward atmosphere hanging over them puts a damper on it. Daichi can still feel the embarrassment rolling off Kuroo as Kuroo huddles down in his jacket and wraps himself tight with a blanket like if he covers himself up enough he can disappear entirely from Daichi's sight.

"So," Daichi starts bravely, breaking the nervous silence between them. "Have we been dating all this time?"

Kuroo clears his throat and loosens the blanket wrapped around his neck. "That was the plan, yes. But, uh, you don't have to if you don't want to. You can just take this as a sort of friend thing?"

"I don't mind."

Kuroo blinks. "Come again?"

"I said I don't mind," Daichi repeats, flushing red and scrunching his hand into the sand. If Kuroo asks him to repeat himself again, he swears he is going to throw it at him.

On the way to the cove, Daichi realised that he was not entirely opposed to the thought of Kuroo. He _likes_ Kuroo, which was something surprisingly easy to figure out once he took the time to sort it out. From the start, Kuroo has been accommodating and kind under his veneer of cunning smirks. He is annoying, but Daichi knows that he does it on purpose, poking Daichi just enough to get a rise out of him but not to make him really angry. It is fun to talk to him, telling stories and trading banter with each other while Kuroo shows him around town. Daichi likes the way his stupid hair sticks up like gravity was something that did not apply to it and the way Kuroo looks at him when he thinks Daichi is distracted, all soft emotion and quick, fleeting glances.

He wouldn't mind if Kuroo thought that they were going out the whole time or if he still wanted to after tonight.

Kuroo's mouth falls open, his eyes wide under that ridiculous fringe of his, and Daichi finds it in him to grin at Kuroo, leaning in to brush a kiss against his cheek. It is dark but Daichi knows that Kuroo's face is pink again, his skin warm against Daichi's lips. Kuroo scrabbles for Daichi's hand, lying flat on the blanket between them, and holds it tight, squeezing his fingers around his.

"Does this mean you like me?" Kuroo asks him, a smile spreading across his face, so wide and affectionate that Daichi can't look away.

"What do you think?" Daichi retorts, his heart skipping wildly in his chest.

"I think you're really cute and also really hot and I really like you," Kuroo answers, brazen and lovestruck all at once, shamelessly grinning back at him.

"I'm not, um," Daichi fumbles, caught completely off guard by Kuroo's sudden declaration.

"You are. I really should have said this all earlier," Kuroo affirms, catching Daichi by the arm and pulling him down to lie flat on the blanket with him. "You're amazing. Although, I can't believe you didn't notice I was romancing you the whole time. That's a whole other kind of amazing."

Kuroo curls up on his side, his eyes bright in the dark as he looks at Daichi. His hand finds Daichi's again, brushing his thumb over the back of his knuckles rhythmically. It is distracting, all of Kuroo is distracting, and Daichi finds himself breathless as he says, "You should have said something about it. How was I supposed to know?"

"Okay, that's partially my fault," Kuroo concedes, "but most people would have noticed, just saying."

"I'm not most people. I'm—" _A merman._ The words stick in Daichi's throat. Kuroo still doesn't know.

He should tell him now, but what happens after that? His village has not been exposed to human contact yet and as far as he knows, the general human population had no idea that merpeople existed.

When Saeko and Akiteru had left, they had appeared human to the rest of the humans, leaving their merpeople identities far behind in the sea. The spell Shimizu had given Daichi was temporary and Daichi was not prepared to leave his life behind like them, even for Kuroo. It didn't mean that Kuroo didn't matter to him, but there were other issues looming large in Daichi's life he had to consider before he could tell Kuroo that was a merman. He had responsibilities he had to uphold, not only as a merperson, but as their next chief.

But at the same time, Daichi feels like he shouldn't keep something so important about himself from Kuroo. He glances at Kuroo, trying not to let his worry show in face.

"What's wrong?" Kuroo asks, smoothing a thumb over his cheek.

"Nothing," Daichi lies. He can't do anything now. He doesn't know where to start.

"Are you sure?" Kuroo cups his face with a hand, his eyes concerned as he searches Daichi's face.

Either Daichi is not very good at keeping his emotions out of his face or Kuroo is just abnormally good at reading his expressions, but either way Daichi feels the need to get away from Kuroo's scrutiny. He inches down, burying his face in Kuroo's chest and wrapping his arms around Kuroo so that Kuroo stops looking at him.

"Mmph," Daichi says into the front of his jacket. Kuroo is warm under all the layers he has on and he feels comfortable when Daichi presses up against him, lining up the length of his body with his.

Kuroo goes stiff in his arms, his heart thumping so loud Daichi can almost hear it through his chest. Then he drops his arm down around Daichi's shoulders, hesitating for a moment before he pulls him close.

The sound of the waves washes over them, loud in the silence between them. Daichi has never heard them like this and it is something new, like all the other things he has learnt by being around Kuroo. It is cold in the sea at night, but the cold here on land is different, carried ashore by the breeze. Kuroo lets go of him once to pull the blankets up around them, tucking the edges around Daichi's back before he loops his arm around him again.

Daichi is not home, but being with Kuroo soothes him, his warmth and the sound of the sea lulling Daichi into a sense of calm.

Kuroo's face is pressed into his hair, his voice barely audible as he murmurs, "You're the most amazing thing that ever happened to me, Sawamura."

And Daichi hears him all the same.

\---

"Sawamura. Sawamura, wake up."

Something brushes against his face and Daichi bats at it, curling inwards and away from the sudden onslaught of light assaulting his eyes. That same something touches his shoulder, shaking him insistently until he cracks open an eyelid, wordlessly complaining about being woken up.

"Sawamura, I don't mean to wake you like this but I have a shift at Lev's that I'm already late for." A hand covers his eyes, protecting them from the light, and lips brush against his cheek. "So wake up already."

It's Kuroo.

Daichi wakes up instantly, scrambling into a sitting position as that realisation hits him. Kuroo takes his hand away from his eyes, greeting him with an smirk as Daichi squints in the outpouring of sunlight. He touches a hand to the seashell around his neck and runs his hands through his hair, blinking himself into full wakefulness.

Kuroo pulls the blanket off him, folding it with quick motions and stuffing it into his bag. He tugs at the blanket under Daichi and Daichi blinks back at him, trying to reorientate himself. He is not used to waking up to this much light and he feels half-blind.

Kuroo squats before him, his eyes fond as he gazes at Daichi. "You're really cute like this, but unfortunately I have work to be at." He eases Daichi up by the forearms, crouching down to retrieve the blanket he had been lying on.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep like that," Daichi mumbles, stretching out his arms and stumbling slightly, belatedly remembering that he had legs attached and not his tail.

"Me neither. I thought we would just stay here until it was late and then leave, not stay overnight." With his bag full, Kuroo stands and faces Daichi. "But it wasn't a bad way to wake up."

Kuroo curls his fingers around the back of Daichi's neck, pulling him forward to press a kiss to his forehead. His face is red when he draws back but he looks accomplished, a silly smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I have to go now. Are you awake enough to get back by yourself?"

Daichi nods, heat creeping into his cheeks as he finally catches up with what is going on.

"I'll see you next week then, Sawamura." Kuroo lets go of him, his touch lingering against the back of his neck before he darts off towards the rocks surrounding the cove, throwing one last look back at him before he disappears into the gap.

In the sudden absence of Kuroo, Daichi touches a hand to his forehead and a rush of emotions washes over him with affection at the forefront of it all. He heads towards the sea, shedding his clothes and bundling it up into an easy-to-carry ball as he steps into the water.

There are things Daichi needs to sort out between now and the next time he meets Kuroo. He probably has to discuss his situation with Ukai—leaving out his relationship with Kuroo to spare himself the embarrassment—to see if establishing proper contact with humans was a feasible option. And if it wasn't, he had to come up with the next best plan of action. He is not going to give Kuroo up.

Proposing trade with the humans was one way he could approach it. The humans had fresh produce all year round and they were better able to guarantee a stable supply of it than the harpies. The merpeople had liked the apples he brought back and they might support him if Ukai took his proposal into serious consideration.

Then there was the issue he wanted to discuss with Shimizu regarding the existence of magic users on land. Kenma had not been a danger to him, although he could have been, but Daichi's interest in him is purely from curiosity. He had not known that humans used magic too and he wonders if Kuroo knows about it.

These are all the things Daichi has to sort out once he gets back. He reaches the far end of the shallows, taking a breath before he plunges into the deep, letting the currents carry him out to sea as he waits for Shimizu's magic to work.

It takes longer than usual and Daichi sinks deeper before he realises that nothing is happening at all. He opens his eyes against the stinging saltwater and glances down at his legs, which show no sign of going away at all.

Panic grips him and he scrabbles for the shell hanging from his neck, finding it whole and intact. The cord around his neck is in the same state, no different from when Shimizu had given it to him. The magic is still there, thrumming within the shell, but it is not reaching out towards him.

A sharp pain erupts in his chest and Daichi glances towards the surface of the sea, already so far up above him. He kicks his legs out under him, his arms pushing against the water, trying to reach the surface before he runs out of air.

Daichi is not used to swimming like this, his legs falling out of coordination with his arms and he finds that he is not moving fast enough. His lungs burn, the pain eating away at the edges of his vision, and he thrusts an arm upwards, followed by the other, frantically trying to get out of the water as it closes in on him.

The water pushes at his nose, trying to fit into his mouth, and Daichi gasps as his lungs collapse in on him, his last breath of air escaping from him. The surface is just out of his reach and he stretches out towards it, straining his entire body upwards. His legs feel useless under him, numb with the lack of oxygen, and Daichi just wishes that he had his tail back so he could close the last bit of distance between him and the open air.

As soon as that thought bubbles up in his head, everything else disappears. The pain is gone, as is the crushing feeling that had overwhelmed him, and Daichi sucks in a mouthful of water, feeling the oxygen gradually enter his blood again. He stays still, suspended in the water, trying to work through the cold fear numbing his head.

"Daichi!" Two figures rush towards him from a distance, cutting straight through the water.

Tanaka and Nishinoya stop on either side of him, glancing around as though expecting someone else to be nearby. Then Tanaka says, "We saw a whole lot of thrashing around here. Are you okay? Was it a fight?"

"A fight?" Daichi echoes. "No, I was just..." He trails off, not quite sure how to explain himself.

Nishinoya nods his head like he understands anyway. "Sometimes I get carried away with my morning exercises too. It gets dangerous for other people so I try to practice a bit more discipline." He gestures at the spiny fins lining his tail and forearms.

Tanaka nods too, although he turns his head from side to side like he is still searching for something.

"What is it, Ryuu?" Nishinoya asks, looking around with him, narrowing his eyes in concentration like it would help him spot an invisible enemy.

"Before I saw Daichi here, I thought I saw a human drowning," Tanaka says, "but there's no sign of them."

Drowning.

Daichi had been drowning. That was what the crushing feeling had been.

But merpeople didn't drown.

The charm hadn't worked. Daichi hadn't turned back into a merman even after coming back to the sea.

Daichi grabs the shell charm and the cord goes taut, biting into the back of his neck. But he doesn't go through with it, doesn't rip it right off his neck and toss it away even though every instinct screams at him to do so. He looks down at it, sitting in his palm, a splash of glossy brown peeking out around one side.

 _For protection,_ Shimizu had told him and he drops it back against his chest.

\---

"Daichi. Daichi, wake up."

A hand cups his face, the touch cool against his skin, and Daichi flinches awake. He gasps and water rushes into his mouth but only air enters his blood, bubbling out between his lips as he exhales.

Daichi can breathe. When he looks down below his waist, his tail is there. He runs his hands over his forearms and his fingers catch on the ridged edges of his fins. He is a merman and he is not going to drown.

Suga leans over him, peering into his face as he retracts his hand. "Daichi, are you okay?"

"I'm... fine."

Suga frowns. "You don't look so good."

"I'm just a bit tired." Daichi glances around. He had dropped into his usual place between Suga and Asahi, thinking of catching some sleep before everyone got up for the day. But the cave is empty, apart from Suga and him. Everyone else must already be up and about, ready to start their morning. It isn't like him to sleep in like this.

"You should get some rest." Suga pushes Daichi back down, holding him in place when he tries to get up and arching an eyebrow at him. "That wasn't a suggestion."

"But—"

"We can do without our fearless leader-to-be for a while. What do you think we do on your days off with Kuroo?" Suga grins at him.

Daichi returns the smile weakly.

"When are you going to see him again?" Suga asks, releasing Daichi once he lies back down properly.

"Next week." Daichi shifts, turning onto his side and away from Suga.

His insides are churning, not because of Kuroo, but at the thought of going back to the surface. He barely managed to change back this morning. There was no telling if the same thing would happen again if he leaves the sea, trading his tail for legs and giving up his ability to breathe underwater. He wants to see Kuroo again but it is a frightening thought.

"You really like him, don't you?" Suga says softly and Daichi jumps, quickly shutting his eyes and feigning sleep.

It probably doesn't work on Suga, but Suga doesn't say anything else after that. He doesn't leave either and Daichi watches the slow movement of Suga's fins through slitted eyes as they open up over his head, forming beautiful, curling patterns in the still water.

\---

Life goes on as normal after that.

Daichi is the first to wake up the next morning, pushing his way out of the hanging seaweed at the cave's entrance and emerging into the morning light. He does not linger, swimming circles around their territory, stretching his tail with a single-minded determination.

He goes on patrols with Tanaka and Nishinoya, breaks up fights between Hinata and Kageyama, and hurls Asahi back into the kelp forest once and for all. The day repeats itself in the next and then the day after next. Daichi does not think about the surface or about drowning, keeping his thoughts only on what he has to do for the day.

On his way back from the corals one day, Daichi stops by Shimizu's cave after seeing Tanaka and Nishinoya dart out, yelling raucous goodbyes to Shimizu. That meant that Shimizu was in and Daichi glides in, looking for her inky shape in the dimness.

"Hello, Sawamura." Shimizu shifts a tentacle and Daichi spots the movement, turning his head towards her as she emerges into the light.

"How are you today, Shimizu?"

"I'm fine." She peers down at him. "But you don't look well."

"I'm just tired. Tsukishima is still picking fights with Hinata and Kageyama."

"Yachi told me that they'd be going back to the cove soon."

Daichi swallows, colouring slightly as he remembers the last time he had been at the cove. "Maybe we'll finally be able to get some peace and quiet around here."

"It must be hard, getting in the middle of them whenever they start fighting."

"It is. Either I'm getting too old for this or they're getting stronger." Daichi sighs, rotating his shoulder. He is barely twenty but his body already feels too old for him, too heavy, weighing down on his movements and making him sluggish. Not to mention the wave of dizzy spells that have been hitting him lately, knocking him off kilter while swimming.

"You're still young, Sawamura." Shimizu sounds faintly amused.

"I don't feel young." Daichi sighs again. "Anyway, Shimizu, when I was on land, I met another magic user like you. He noticed the shell charm."

"Were they human?"

"Yes, I think so." Kenma had looked human to him but if he knew about magic, he could have been under a spell to alter his appearance like Daichi.

"That's unusual but not impossible." Shimizu explains, "Human beings are exclusively non-magical creatures, while merpeople and the like are magical creatures. But sometimes, there are interspecies unions between humans and magical creatures and the end result is a creature that may or may not be magical. The human you met may have been one such child of a human and magical creature."

"I hadn't thought there would be magic on land at all," Daichi admits.

"There are magical creatures on land. Harpies are one of them. You know Akaashi uses magic like I do. Dryads are another, although I've never met one. I heard they live further inland. The world is much bigger than just the sea, Sawamura." Shimizu smiles at him. "In some ways, I'm glad that you have the chance to explore the land as well as the sea."

"It's been informative," Daichi replies, trying not to think about Kuroo. The thought of going back up to the surface still sends shivers down his spine but it has been almost a week and he misses Kuroo.

"When are you going back to the surface?" Shimizu asks.

"Tomorrow."

Shimizu surveys him with her deep black eyes and nods. "Have fun with Kuroo."

Daichi doesn't remember telling her Kuroo's name and he flushes as she smiles serenely back at him. He doesn't want to know how much everyone else knows about his relationship with Kuroo, even though he hasn't breathed a word of it to anyone. He says goodbye to Shimizu as he drifts out of the cave, slapping at his cheeks to dispel any remaining heat in them.

Tomorrow, he is going to meet Kuroo. But to do that, he needs to go back to the surface.

Daichi falters, suddenly overcome by dizziness, and he grabs at the rocks that make up the cave's mouth. He lashes his tail back and forth, trying to keep himself upright even with the water pressing down on him, roaring in his ears, trying to make him sink. It's like that time all over again when he had been drowning and he couldn't breathe.

But Daichi won't let that happen again. The dizziness will pass and he can breathe normally, all he has to do is—

\---

Daichi wakes up and it is dark all around him.

_"—not well."_

_"He didn't come back that night—"_

_"—worried—"_

_"—something happen?"_

_"Kuroo."_

"Daichi?"

Daichi sees Asahi at the mouth of the cave, peering in his direction through the seaweed. Suga is next to him and the both of them glide over to Daichi hurriedly.

Daichi realises that he is sitting up, his breaths coming fast and shallow, the water around his mouth bubbling up frantically. He closes his hands around his mouth, going down to his throat, his fingers tangling in the cord of the seashell charm. There are dark shapes all around him, quiet in sleep, and Daichi's eyes catches sight of rustling orange hair not far from him.

He is going to wake the others if he keeps this up.

Daichi pushes past Suga and Asahi, throwing back the curtain of seaweed and emerging into the night. Outside, he can breathe and he tries to keep doing that, pushing the heels of his palms against his eyelids as he fights against the gasps coming from his throat.

"Daichi!" There are hands on him, soothing as they rub his back, pulling his hands away from his face.

Suga is there, shaking him by the forearms, forcing him to look him in the eye. Suga breathes in slowly and exhales it as a steady stream of bubbles, encouraging Daichi to follow his lead. Daichi tries and he falls out of rhythm with Suga for the first few breaths before his breathing finally evens out. He is still shaky but it is an improvement and he works on it, squeezing his eyes shut as he focusing on breathing in and out.

Breathing was never this hard before. He never had to think about it as a merperson or a human, on sea or on land, until he found himself in the wrong form in the wrong place. Daichi thought he was over it after almost a week of hard work but here he is, a day before returning to the surface, his body working against him as he struggles to do something as basic as breathing.

"Are you okay now?" Suga asks, keeping a firm grasp on his arms, his and Asahi's grip on him the only thing keeping Daichi from sinking.

Daichi shudders, working his tail back and forth to keep himself afloat. "I'm fine. Just needed some air."

"That was not 'fine'," Suga retorts, but there is no bite to his voice, only worry.

Asahi drifts around Daichi, going over to Suga's side. He is pale, but his face is set in a look of grim worry, matching the look on Suga's face. "You fainted outside Shimizu's cave. Did something happen?"

"No, nothing happened. We just talked." Daichi forces on a smile but it doesn't come out right.

"Shimizu said that the shell charm's magic was erratic," Suga says, his eyes serious. "Daichi, you're not telling us something."

"I—" Daichi's throat seizes up. The memory of drowning resurfaces, the crushing feeling of not being able to breathe, not being able to move in a place he has lived in all his life, and it is _scary_.

Daichi has been scared before, like the time when he was six and came face-to-face with his first shark, or when they couldn't find Yachi for an entire day, or when he first met Kuroo around the edge of a rock. But this is different. It's in the water, it's in the air he breathes in, it's in the very thought of going back up on land.

He is scared of going back up to the surface.

"I nearly drowned," Daichi says and it rushes out of him like a sigh, relief at finally saying something about it.

Suga's grip tightens on him. "How?"

"That morning when I came back, I was in the sea and I didn't turn back into a merman. The shell charm has always worked but I just couldn't change back this time and I was too deep in to get out in time."

"But you're back to normal now, right?" Asahi asks, his eyes flitting over Daichi's form nervously like he could lose his tail at any moment.

"The magic kicked in suddenly. I don't know why but I'm glad it did." Tanaka and Nishinoya had been there but Daichi doesn't want to think what would have happened if it had just been him, stuck as a human in the depths of the sea.

"Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?" Suga asks him, his eyes a stormy grey.

"I didn't want the both of you to worry," Daichi mumbles.

Suga's eyes soften. "Daichi. It's our duty as best friends to worry about you. You're supposed to tell us everything, whether it's about your hot dates with Kuroo or something as serious as not being able to transform back."

"Why does everyone know that we're dating? I didn't tell anyone," Daichi mutters.

"It's so obvious." Suga raises an eyebrow. "But that's not the point now. The point here is that you nearly drowned and you didn't tell us about it and it's obviously affecting you."

"You haven't looked well ever since the night you didn't come back. We thought that something happened between Kuroo and you..." Asahi trails off, looking uncertain.

"It doesn't have anything to do with Kuroo," Daichi defends him.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Suga interjects carefully. "Do you remember the warning Shimizu gave you about the spell?"

Daichi nods, his heart sinking as he realises where Suga is going with this.

"It responds to your purpose, or what you most strongly want to do," Suga continues. "You're in love with Kuroo but he's human and there's no way he can come down here with you. So the spell senses that and it doesn't work because you don't really want to leave him."

"That's not..." Daichi stumbles, looking at Asahi for help.

"Suga's right." Asahi looks at him apologetically.

"But, _love_?" Daichi says incredulously. Besides, he and Kuroo had only gotten as far as establishing that there was _like_ between them. "That's not a strong enough purpose to keep me from coming back."

"Is it?" Suga counters, levelling a flat stare at him. "Daichi, you couldn't turn back. You nearly _drowned_. You tell me."

Asahi throws an anxious glance Suga's way. "Suga..."

"It did happen. There's no use shying away from it," Suga tells Asahi and Asahi shifts uncomfortably. Then Suga turns back to Daichi, "Daichi, we've known you forever and we've seen how much you've changed since meeting Kuroo. You're happy when you're around him."

He is. Daichi knows this but admitting it, admitting that Suga is right about everything, means that Daichi has to choose and he doesn't want to. He wants to stay here in the sea with Suga and Asahi, looking after Hinata and Kageyama and Yachi and everyone else. But he also wants to go up to the surface to see Kuroo, going where Kuroo takes him for the day and just walking around town with Kuroo by his side.

"I'm supposed to meet him tomorrow," Daichi realises, a sick feeling rising in his stomach. "What do I do?"

Suga gives him a small, encouraging smile. "Whatever you want to do."

\---

Daichi doesn't go see Kuroo tomorrow or the next day or the day after that until Hinata comes up to him, pulling Kageyama along in his wake.

"The human is back at the cove again!" Hinata reports. He is breathing hard, his face flushed red. "He nearly saw us and we swam all the way back instantly. I swear he didn't see us."

"I'll handle it." Daichi ruffles his hair. "Don't worry about it."

"Finally," Suga says from beside him as Hinata and Kageyama swim off. "If you stayed down here moping for any longer, I was going to go up there myself."

"I'm not moping."

"Yes, you are." Suga slaps him on the back and Daichi winces at the sting. "Have you decided what you're going to do?"

"No." Suga frowns and Daichi shifts uncomfortably under his accusing stare. "Okay, yes," he says through his teeth.

Suga touches his arm, a small reassuring gesture. "Whatever your decision is, I just want you to be happy. Don't worry too much about us, Daichi. Think about what you want and get up there."

Daichi takes a deep breath. Suga means well but Daichi can't do this to him or any of the other merpeople. He has a responsibility to them, one that outweighs something as trivial as what he wants or what he feels for Kuroo. But he has a responsibility to Kuroo too, which is why he needs to go back up there for one last time.

"I'll be back," Daichi tells Suga as he swims past him, pushing himself upwards through the water, towards the surface.

Suga's smile falters as he watches him go. "I thought you would say that."

\---

When Daichi heaves himself out of the water, he feels the familiar spike of magic surround him and then his tail is gone, replaced by a pair of legs. This time, the sensation is especially unsettling and Daichi stares at his legs, his breathing growing uneven, threatening to choke up his throat. He bites down on his lip hard, drawing blood and jolting him out of it.

"Stop that," Daichi mutters to himself as he gets to his feet, wobbling slightly as he goes to uncover a set of clothes hidden by the rocks. His hands are still shaking when he tugs on his pants and he frowns at them fiercely, clenching and unclenching them into fists.

It's okay, he's okay. As long as he focuses his all on the sea and his reasons for being up here on land, he will be able to return.

The sand sticks to Daichi's bare feet as he walks from one end of the cove to the other, checking around the rocks carefully. Kuroo is not here. He must have left after Hinata returned. In some ways, Daichi is glad that he did. It gives him time to brace himself, to try to stop the sick feeling from rising in his gut as he puts on his sandals and walks out of the cove.

He finds Kuroo on his first try at the Haiba restaurant. Kuroo stands on the porch, his posture languid as he leans his forearms against the wooden railings and stares out into the distance. He looks listless and even his hair seems to be drooping, falling into his face more than it sticks up in the air.

Kuroo swivels his head in Daichi's direction and Daichi freezes, his chest tightening as Kuroo's mouth falls open and a brilliant smile spreads across his face. He is running down the stairs before Daichi can react, his feet thumping against the hollow wood in his rush to get to Daichi.

"Hey," Kuroo says softly as he stops in front of Daichi, his smile fond, edged out with concern. "I missed you during the past few days. Are you okay?"

Daichi nods, his eyes flitting to Kuroo's face and then away. "I had some stuff to attend to. Sorry I didn't tell you."

"You should really consider getting a phone." Kuroo laughs, stepping close to Daichi, brushing a hand under his jaw and tilting his face up to look at him. There are dark circles under Daichi's eyes and Kuroo frowns slightly. "You don't look so good though. Have you been sleeping well?"

Kuroo is too close to him, his face less than a handspan away, and Daichi feels like if he doesn't say it now, he won't ever be able to. "Listen, I have something to tell you."

Kuroo drops his hands to Daichi's waist, reaching around to lock his fingers behind his back, pulling him close and looking pleased with himself. "Is it about the cove again? The last time you got all serious like this you told me to stay away from the cove."

"No, it's..." Daichi bites his lip. Kuroo's proximity is distracting him and he rests his hands on Kuroo's forearms, easing them off him. "I'm going back."

"Now?" Kuroo presses his hand against Daichi's forehead. "Maybe you aren't well after all."

Daichi wraps his fingers around Kuroo's wrist and lowers his hand. Kuroo's other arm falls from his waist and Daichi steps back, putting some space between them. "Not like that. I'm going back home."

"Oh." Kuroo looks lost for a moment before he says hopefully, "It's not a permanent thing, is it? You'll come back here again sometime."

Daichi shakes his head.

"Then I'll go visit you. The islands are just a boat ride away. Tell me which one you live on and I'll go see you and you can be the one to show me around this time—"

"Kuroo." Daichi tugs at both of Kuroo's hands, making him look at him.

Kuroo is unhappy and it shows in the downturned curve of his mouth and the hurt in his eyes. He has every right to be. Daichi is fully to blame for everything. He is not being fair to Kuroo at all.

"I'm sorry," Daichi says and it comes out hollow and all wrong. He doesn't want to be doing this.

Kuroo looks pleading. "Sawamura."

"Thanks for showing me around and taking me to all these great places—"

"Sawamura."

"—and introducing me to your friends and—"

"Sawamura, was it something I did?

Daichi is babbling, he knows that. But there is something in Kuroo's voice that grabs at his attention, his eyes snapping up to look at Kuroo.

Kuroo's eyes are shadowed, his gaze directed down past Daichi's eyes and into the ground at their feet. His mouth is set in a thin line, his jaw clenched tight, and he looks so miserable that Daichi almost gives in there and then, wanting nothing but to step forward into Kuroo's space again and apologise for everything he just said.

Instead, he tightens his hands around Kuroo's, forcing himself to stay where he is even as the words spill out of his mouth. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. You're amazing."

Kuroo's mouth twists wryly. "I'm not, really. I can't even get you to stay with me."

"It's my fault. I should have never done this in the first place, coming up to land and falling in—" Daichi flushes as he realises that he is using Suga's words. "I mean, meeting you."

Kuroo gives him a strange look, closing his hands around Daichi's, his fingers grasping against his skin. "What did you—"

"Kuroo!" a voice calls from the restaurant and they both jump, turning to see Lev standing on the top step and looking around. "Where did you go? You're still on shift!"

Daichi drops Kuroo's hands, pulling right out of his grasp. The longer he stays here with Kuroo, the harder everything seems to be getting and a twinge of fear hits him right in the chest, reminding him that if he lets himself get swept up here, he won't be able to return. He can't do that to Suga or Asahi or any of the other merpeople he was supposed to be responsible for.

"I have to go," Daichi tells Kuroo, his heartbeat pounding in his ears, in time with the magic wrapped around him, pulsating from the shell hanging from his neck.

Kuroo reaches for Daichi. "Sawamura, wait—"

The funny thing about all this is that the first time Daichi had stepped out of the sea, he could barely even stand, let alone walk. But now he runs, faster than Kuroo can react, his feet pushing off the ground, pounding into the dirt, and the air burning his lungs.

He doesn't hear footsteps behind him and he doesn't look back, running right down the road leading the cove. The rocks scrape against his sides as he darts through the gap and skids to a stop in the sand, his legs threatening to give way beneath him. Breathing hard, Daichi glances back at the gap in the rocks.

There is no sign of Kuroo, no one in the gap following him through into the cove.

Daichi straightens up, pulling off his clothes and kicking his sandals off as he heads to the sea. He will retrieve them later, for Yachi, but for now he needs to go back. Shimizu's magic pulses through him, the seashell thrumming against his chest, reverberating deep into his bones. His feet touches the water and he walks straight in, closing a hand around the smooth surface of the shell. The waves lap against his knees, then his hips, then his neck, and Daichi takes a deep breath before he plunges his head underwater with the sea roaring in his ears.

When he opens his eyes, the saltwater doesn't hurt. The water he breathes in doesn't make him choke and he moves normally through the currents, his tail keeping him afloat. Daichi dives deeper and the sea doesn't reject him, doesn't try to drown him like an outsider in its midst. He is back to being a merman again.

Daichi hooks his fingers through the cord around his neck and snaps it off, the seashell coming away clean in his hand, sitting in the palm of his hand until he releases it into the water. It stays suspended in front of him for a moment before it start to sink and Daichi moves ahead without seeing it go.

With this, he won't have to go up to the surface again. That was how it was. That was how it was supposed to be. After Daichi returns to the sea, Kuroo can go back to living his life as it was before he met Daichi. They hadn't even known each other for all that long. It shouldn't have to be this difficult. He should feel relieved.

But, instead, Daichi feels numb. His neck feels uncomfortably bare without the seashell and there is a hollow ache thrumming in his chest, echoing out throughout his whole body. He hunches in on himself, pressing his arms against his chest and trying to fight down the awful, awful feeling welling up in him.

Arms close around him from behind and Daichi struggles instinctively, breaking free and turning around in one quick movement, his stance wide, his fins bristling, ready for a fight. The same arms wrap around him, tighter this time, fingers locking around his back and the whole thing feels strangely familiar. Daichi pushes at a shoulder, broad, the fit of it familiar in his palm, and looks into Kuroo's face.

Kuroo grins back at Daichi, the air bubbling out from between his teeth.

The panic kicks in and Daichi clamps a hand over Kuroo's nose and mouth like that would stop the oxygen from leaving him, his tail flailing under him and slapping at Kuroo's legs. "Hold on, I'll get you to the surface."

Kuroo's eyes widen above his hand, his mouth moving against Daichi's palm, and then he is pulling Daichi's hand away from his mouth, brushing his thumb over his wrist to calm him down.

"You don't have to do that," Kuroo says and Daichi hears him clearly through the water.

Kuroo is treading water, brushing up against Daichi's tail with every movement of his legs. His other arm is still clamped around Daichi's waist, the curve of his hand resting on the junction between his skin and scales.

"How?" Daichi asks, pushing at Kuroo so that he can look at all of him.

Kuroo lets Daichi push him away reluctantly, raking his gaze over Daichi and lingering long on his tail before meeting Daichi's eyes. "Why didn't you tell me that you were a mermaid?"

"Merman," Daichi corrects automatically. There are so many things he wants to ask Kuroo but he probably owes Kuroo an explanation of his own first. Now that they are both in the sea, there isn't anything left to hide. Daichi can't change the way he looks, not without Shimizu's charm, and Kuroo is looking at him the same way he always has, a small smile playing across his lips as he glances at Daichi's tail again.

"I was scared," Daichi admits.

"Of what? Of me?" Kuroo touches a hand to the side of his face gently.

"Not you. I" —the breath hitches in his throat and Daichi shakes his head, determined to continue— " _like_ you. I'm not afraid of you. I wanted to keep seeing you but one day after coming back, I couldn't turn back. After that, I was scared of not being able to return to the sea if I kept going up to land. It's kind of an irrational fear, isn't it?" Daichi gestures to himself, smiling wryly. "Because I'm back to normal again."

Kuroo hugs him close. "Nonsense. I'd be scared too if I was stuck being something I wasn't. Which, by the way, is something I would know about."

Daichi pulls back, looking at him in surprise. "Wait, so are you a...?"

"Not a merman," Kuroo clarifies. "But also not as human as you think I am. The reason I can do all this normally underwater is because I'm half-selkie."

Daichi has heard of selkies, even met a few here and there, but Kuroo looks nothing like them in the water. When Daichi looks at him, running his eyes over his very human form from his hair—finally defeated by the water—to his legs, Kuroo just looks as he always has.

Kuroo sees him looking, his smile crooking sideways as he explains, "My mom was a selkie. I spent my childhood with her around but I could tell she wasn't happy being up here on land. She loved the sea and she wanted to return to it, although I didn't know that when I was younger. Then one day, when I was nine, she vanished. The house was in disarray, dishes and windows broken, furniture overturned, and my dad was distraught. That day, my mom decided that she had enough and she tore the house apart to search for her sealskin so she could go home. I never saw her again after that.

"Except recently, she called to me at the start of the summer. I came down to the cove to meet her. She looked healthy and happy and she told me she missed me." Kuroo's mouth twists wryly. "Before she left, she told me she loved me but I haven't seen her again ever since then.

"And then, one day, when I went down to the cove to look for her, I met you." Kuroo smiles, his eyes bright as he gazes at Daichi.

"So that's why you were at the cove," Daichi murmurs wonderingly. "I was supposed to get you away from the cove. You were scaring the merpeople away."

"Well, you succeeded." Kuroo flashes him a grin. "Except for that one time. And maybe now."

"You're going to ruin my reputation." Daichi sighs, the corners of his lips quirking up. "I was well-respected before you came along. Now everyone just asks me how things are coming along with you."

"If everyone already knows that just makes things much easier." Kuroo takes his hand, his grin wavering as he asks, "Sawamura, are you still breaking up with me? That's what you were trying to do before you ran off, wasn't it? If it's because you're a merman and all, I have to respectfully turn you down."

Daichi's hand tightens in Kuroo's hold. "I can't go back up there anymore. I lost the charm."

"I don't know, you're still pretty charming to me." Kuroo's smirk comes back in full force and Daichi resists the urge to slap a hand over his face, just to make him stop. Kuroo digs something out of his pocket, his fingers uncurling around the seashell charm. "Is this it?"

Daichi takes it from him, turning it over in his hands. The brown splotch is still there along a curved side but the magic is gone, the last of it leaking out of the frayed ends of the cord. "The spell's gone."

"Then I'll come down here to meet you. Simple." Kuroo brings his hand up to his lips, kissing the tips of his fingers.

Daichi loops the cord over his other hand, keeping a firm grip on the shell. "But how did you know about it?"

"Someone told me that there was something magical on you and this was the only thing I've seen you carrying around."

"Was it Kenma?"

"You could tell?" Kuroo asks and Daichi nods. "He told me you were magical too, although he couldn't tell what. The funny thing was that I always thought you were a merman until I saw your legs."

"I really wasn't all that subtle about it, was I?" Daichi laughs.

"It's kind of hard to believe that every time you showed up, you weren't wearing anything behind that rock. Although, I guess, technically, merpeople are always in the nude."

Daichi smacks him on the shoulder. "Don't be rude."

"Was that why your clothes were wet the first time we went into town?" Kuroo grins at him.

"Stop that." Daichi smacks him again and rests his cheek against his shoulder, his face burning. "I had a friend helping me. She was the one who lent me her collection of clothes and coordinated them for me."

"She did a pretty good job with you. I should meet her one day so I can thank her."

"You can," Daichi says, surprised at his own readiness. But now, there is nothing stopping him from saying that to Kuroo. "I'll show you around, if you like."

Kuroo smiles. "I'll take you up on that offer then."

\---

Daichi is waist-deep in water, wading deeper in, his fingers locked loosely around Kuroo's as he pulls him along in his wake. There is more resistance than usual, as if Kuroo is digging his heels into the sand, and Daichi tugs at him insistently, almost dragging him off his feet.

"You didn't tell me you were some sort of mermaid princess, Sawamura," Kuroo says accusingly, trying to stand his ground and failing as he stumbles in the sand, his hand held captive in Daichi's hold.

"I'm _not_. I told you I'm just a successor."

"I can't believe I almost stole away their jewel of the sea. That's all the more reason not to go. My god, what if the whole kingdom is after me?"

Daichi stops in place, turning around and levelling Kuroo with a deadpan stare. "What kingdom? What jewel of the sea?"

"I'm just saying, what if—"

Daichi pulls him down by the hand, catching Kuroo mid-sentence as he leans up to seal his mouth over his. Immediately, Kuroo wraps his arms around his waist, opening his mouth against Daichi's eagerly, his eyes fluttering shut. When Daichi eases off the kiss, Kuroo follows him through, taking a step forward and then another as Daichi walks backwards.

The water is up to their chests now, the waves lapping against their exposed skin, and Daichi loops his arms around Kuroo's neck, kicking his legs out from under him and pulling him downwards onto him, into the sea.

The water is deep enough that it submerges the both of them instantly and Daichi feels a rush of magic run through him, washing over his legs and returning his tail to him. Kuroo blinks rapidly at him through the water, looking mildly offended with his hair blown back from his face and suspended all around him.

Daichi laughs and runs his hands through Kuroo's hair, trying to placate him even as he flicks out with his tail, propelling them both farther into the sea.

"You could have just asked me to shut up instead of dumping me in the sea. Really, Sawamura," Kuroo says, his voice ringing out clearly through the water.

"Would you have shut up if I had just asked?" Daichi raises an eyebrow at him.

"Probably not," Kuroo admits, looping an arm back around Daichi's waist, his fingers drumming against his scales, "but you are very persuasive. I have a lot of faith in your methods."

Daichi laughs again and Kuroo braces his hands against his hips, his lips curving up in a smile as he sinks down to meet Daichi.

A whole slew of fins hits Kuroo in the back of his head, knocking him forward into Daichi and tangling them up briefly before it disappears in a flash of silver.

"Daichi, think of the children!" Suga's scandalised voice drifts back to them, ringing with laughter.

"Suga!" Daichi hollers at him as he and Kuroo righten themselves back up, blushing furiously as Hinata and Kageyama drift by in Suga's wake, looking curiously in their direction.

Kuroo watches them go, his arms still around Daichi, his hands crossed at the wrists and resting on the curve of Daichi's lower back. He trails his thumb lightly down Daichi's spine, nudging him as Daichi turns back to him. "See, I told you. I'm already under attack from your merfolk."

"If it's anything, I'm the one under attack," Daichi grumbles, thinking back to all the times Suga had bombarded him with questions about Kuroo, pulling all sorts of details out of Daichi that he hadn't even wanted to tell him.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." Kuroo knocks his forehead against Daichi's, pulling him flush against him. "But wait, who's going to protect me?"

Daichi shrugs. "Sorry, I'm over capacity. I've got a village full of merpeople to look after already."

Kuroo sulks and Daichi cups his jaw with both hands, tracing the curve of his lips with his thumbs.

"But," Daichi grins at the way Kuroo's eyes light up, even though his lips are still downturned under Daichi's touch. "Since you're not really a merperson, I suppose I could make an exception for you. You know, you being human and all."

"Half-human," Kuroo corrects him and his lips finally curve up.

"Half-human, half-selkie, _plus_ sentient hair," Daichi corrects, sliding his hands into his hair.

With them both in the water, it is easy enough for Daichi to pull Kuroo towards him, slanting his mouth against his, the seashell charm trapped between the press of their bodies. When he pulls back, Kuroo is finally quiet, his eyes bright and starstruck above his smile. Daichi shifts his hand down to Kuroo's, linking their fingers together and tugging him forward, deeper into the sea.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> For anyone who's curious about the types of fish/sea creatures I thought the merpeople would be or resemble here's a list:
> 
> Daichi - lyretail swordtail  
> Suga - Siamese fighting fish  
> Asahi - plecostomus  
> Hinata - goldfish  
> Kageyama - black butterfly koi  
> Tsukishima - brichardi cichlids  
> Yamaguchi - flying fox  
> Kiyoko - octopus  
> Yachi - cuttlefish  
> Tanaka - shark  
> Nishinoya - lionfish
> 
> No prizes for guessing who the harpies are! But what about the dryads? - eye emoji-
> 
> Find me here: [tumblr](http://kythen.tumblr.com) / [twitter](http://twitter.com/catcrowcalls)
> 
> EDIT: I AM SCREAMING PLEASE LOOK AT [THIS LOVELY FANART](http://selpeda.tumblr.com/post/148701435083/between-the-sea-and-the-shore-young-merman) THAT SEL DREW FOR THIS FIC OH MY GOD
> 
> As of October 2017, there is a [smut spinoff oneshot in my Kurodai Kinktober 2017 collection](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12236373/chapters/28648188).


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